Moments in Time
by AsylumDoll21
Summary: It's funny how a single moment in time can change so much. The question is, how will you handle that change from now on? Steam Powered Giraffe. Oh how I wish I owned you. lol
1. Chapter 1

It's surprising how much of your life can change over the course of a few moments.

One moment you're standing in line at the coffee shop and the next you're running for your life for reasons you're not entirely aware of.

And that was my morning. Now I'm sitting here in an alley trying to get enough air into my burning lungs. I squeezed my eyes shut as my legs trembled beneath me. I looked over at the tall slender figure next to me and for a split second I wanted nothing more than to murder him.

He was the reason I hadn't gotten my coffee this morning. He was the reason I felt like my legs were made of rubber after having to run like a mad person. And I didn't even know who this guy was. He was dressed in crisp slacks and well shined leather shoes with a tight fitting shirt and vest combo. All black with accents of red and a fedora perched perfectly on the top of his head… that was made of metal… not the hat, his head.

I blinked rapidly as this settled in, before I got angry.

"What the hell is wrong with you? I don't even know you! What do you want!" I yelled, straightening up and glaring menacingly at him. It really wasn't working seeing as he was a head taller than me, made of metal, and probably ten times stronger than me if this turned to blows. In short my situation kept getting worse and worse.

"Now see here, The Spine just saved your life you silly thing." A female robot spoke from behind the tall one staring at me. Her head was hanging off to one side awkwardly and her eyes blinked rapidly as she reached up and bent it back into place with a loud crack.

"Saved my life?! More like ruined my day! Now I'm covered in the latte I was supposed to be drinking as I met for my early morning meeting!" I was probably going to get fired for this, which only served to make me angrier than I already was. I sucked in a huge breathe as I felt a panic attack start to take hold. My left hand began shaking uncontrollably and I sat down on the damp concrete and clutched it to my chest.

"Hey, what's wrong with her?" yet another robot chimed in. This one had a large mustache and brass accents on his face under a bowler hat. I breathed deeply trying my best not to cry. I tried to tell myself that everything was ok but nothing was working. The wet coffee on my blouse cooled quickly and made me shiver. This was it, I was going to lose my job over three maniac robots and if I tried to prove it I was sure no one would believe me.

The next thing I knew the tall slender one called The Spine had scooped me up in his arms and then we were walking. The other two buzzed and chatted in the background and I was stuck, powerless to control anything outside the boundaries of my own mind. I squeezed my eyes shut tightly to trap the tears that threatened to fall and I thought I felt his grip tighten and his thumb rub over my knee where he held me. It was oddly comforting and terrifying at the same time. I tried to think of anything that could calm me down, and I started to hum. It was an old song that my mom had taught me a long time ago. I had never learned the whole thing so I just hummed the part I could remember over and over again as we walked.

After 20 minutes my breathing started to even out and my shoulders began to relax. In all honesty I was completely drained from the sudden attack. Kind of like how some people feel after an adrenaline rush in a scary situation.

"Why were you running?" I asked, I stared at my knees. The robot didn't answer. I wondered if he'd heard me at all. I glanced at him sideways through my hair and saw that he was staring straight ahead like a soldier.

"What were you running from?" I said a little louder. He blinked, but kept his eyes focused straight ahead of him. So he was ignoring me. Well that was great. He could at least tell me whether or not losing my job had been for a good reason. This was infuriating. A tremor ran through my hand again and I returned my gaze to my knees.

"It should be a few more blocks till we reach the parking area where Steve is waiting." The Spine's voice rumbled through me as he spoke.

"Wait, he didn't bring Lil' Steve d-d-did he? Th-th-th-that guy is kinda weird…" the female robot said, somewhat to herself. The sides of The Spine's mouth twitched downwards in disapproval for a fraction of a second before returning to their stoic position.

"Rabbit, Lil' Steve is a valuable part of the team. Besides, the fans love him and his silly youtube videos. I still think he'd look good with a mustache though…" the brass robot chastised the one called Rabbit. They seemed to be completely un-phased by what was happening to me. But I was so tired from fighting back the anxiety that I couldn't worry about things like that. They weren't hurting me and they hadn't done anything truly awful so I could trust them for this moment… right?

We reached a parking garage and made our way towards a large van. It had the words "Walter Robotics" printed on the side with the company logo. Then it all clicked into place. These guys were that band that everyone I knew had been talking about. And also, the guys my company represented. I worked for Walter Robotics as a low level maintenance engineer and tech support technician. There was hope! My job just might be saved!

The door to the van slid open and a man with a cascade of thick dreadlocks was perched in the doorway.

"Hey guys, what took you so long? For a second we thought they had actually cau…. Who's that?" his smile dropped and became a look of utter puzzlement. The Spine set me on my trembling legs just long enough to open the passenger door of the van, holding me tightly around the shoulders while he did so.

"Well let me tell you. We was running around the corner a ways back and I ran smack into this thing here." Rabbit pointed at me with her thumb. "Then the spine grabbed her to help her up and never let go. Maybe his hand joints need to be re-calibrated or something. He had quite the grip on this little lady." She started chuckling to herself as she climbed into the van. As soon as I was situated and belted in, The Spine grabbed the man with the dreadlocks and pulled him a small ways away from the van. They were talking quietly. The man's eyes kept growing wider and his gaze would shift to me periodically during their conversation. Then they walked quickly back to the van and we were soon on our way down the road. I didn't know where we were going exactly, but at this point things certainly couldn't get any worse.

We pulled into the driveway of a fancy hotel and all the robots piled out.

"you gonna get out?" the man asked. I startled for a second and he looked at me like I was going to explode. I made my arm move to the door handle and it took a bit of effort to pull it and open the door. I shuffled after the robots as they made their way to the elevators just inside the doors.

"Come on hatchy, where's the card key?" Rabbit tapped her foot impatiently. the other robot checked his pockets frantically, but none of them realized that it was sticking out of The Spine's back pocket. At this point I was tired and grumpy and rattled to the core. So I really didn't think that what I did next was a big deal.

I stepped forward and grabbed the key card out of his pocket and pushed it into the elevator's key slot. The doors opened with a "Ding" and I stepped inside… but the other three robots just stared at me like I had grown a second head.

"Seriously can we all just stop staring and get this over with? You guys have a lot of explaining to do." They all looked back and forth at one another before silently getting on the elevator. Spine pushed the button for the15th floor and the doors closed on the lobby. The short ride was spent in complete silence until we hit the 8th floor. Then both rabbit and the bronze robot burst out laughing. I wasn't sure if I was annoyed or mortified. There was no reason for this sudden outburst that I knew of.

"Th-the Spine! You should have seen your face!" rabbit wheezed, steam escaping her cheek vents.

"She touched your butt!" the brass robot bent over with his arms around his chest. My face instantly turned bright cherry red as I realized what I had done. I lowered my head letting the fringe of hair fall over my burning face. We arrived on our floor and I followed behind them at what felt like a proper distance. Out of arms reach and just far enough that the snickering was less audible. They all paused in front of the door before looking towards me. I suddenly felt very small.

"What?" The Spine took hold of my hand and uncurled my fingers gently. A spark of electricity ran over my skin and all the hair on my arms stood on end. He gently removed the key card from my grip and opened the door while I recovered from my brain malfunction. After the other two burst through the door he gently guided me by the shoulder to a chair next to a bed and sat me down. Then he left. I was suddenly very worried. He had left me alone with two robots that obviously had some screws loose. So I sat in my chair as the other two ran around after each other and I waited.

He came back a while later with a towel, a button up black shirt and… a latte. He handed the items to me and I blushed a little. I hadn't expected him to try to make up for the accident.

"My room is across the hall. If you'd like to take a shower and change out of your shirt you're welcome to use it. There's no one else in there." He shifted his weight from side to side as if he was nervous about something. He wouldn't look directly at me. I looked down at myself and realized that my white t-shirt was now essentially useless at covering my undergarments after the wet coffee incident. I hugged my arms to my chest and felt my face flare up with a blush that could have rivaled the fires of Pompeii. He held out the door key and I took it before rushing out the door. I was thankful his room was literally right across the hall. I would've been very embarrassed if I'd had to go back and ask for directions after everything that had already happened.

The door opened with a beep and I entered the dark room. It was cool inside and looked like no one was actually staying here save for a large pile of books on the desk opposite the large bed. I stepped into the bathroom and turned on the lights.

The shower was actually just what I needed to relax. The water ran over me and washed away all the anxiety I had felt earlier. I reminded myself that I was safe and this was all just some silly mix up. I was calm for the first time in several hours.

When I stepped out of the shower I realized that my bra was still heavily coffee stained and mostly wet. So I spent the next half hour drying it with the hair dryer that was stowed below the sink. I dressed slowly and sighed at the sorry state of my hair. I opened the door and slammed directly into The Spine. He looked down at me with a puzzled expression on his face and he caught my elbow as I teetered back on my heels. I was frazzled and annoyed and now I was being held in very close quarters with a very tall, very purposefully attractive robot. I cursed the designers and wondered vaguely if they knew he was this way.

I stepped away quickly, trying not to let him see how red my face was getting.

"Are you alright? You like you've been in the steam for too long." His grin quirked up to the side and he placed his hand against my back and guided me to one of the twin beds, sitting me down and getting me a glass of cold water. I sat there quietly, not sure if I wanted to say anything or if I was just too tired to be able to formulate a sentence. I glanced up at him when he returned and took the glass carefully. He stood there for a moment before turning and digging through the closet for something. I sipped the water slowly and scooted myself further onto the bed. It was very comfortable and all at once I desperately wanted to sleep.

He returned with a large coat and laid it across the end of the bed. Before turning and leaving without a word. I let myself keel over on the bed. I was exhausted and I was practically asleep before my head hit the pillow.


	2. Chapter 2

I was woken by a gentle sound in the room. I pushed my sleep deprived body up from the bed and a blanket slid off of my shoulders. I looked around and noticed the clock read 2:45 am. I had slept for more than 12 hours. It was probably the most sleep I had gotten in the last month. I got up and my legs wobbled slightly. I made my way to the bathroom, but there was a light coming from under the door. I knocked quietly and the door opened a fraction of an inch. A single green glowing eye was pressed to the door. It widened slightly and The Spine was standing there.

"Did I wake you? I'm sorry. I figured it would be quieter in here. And you seemed to be out like a light." He switched his weight from side to side nervously… or maybe it was a glitch in his programming. Either way it was kind of adorable. Wait, he was a robot. Adorable shouldn't be the word I chose there…

I could only shrug numbly. My mouth seemed dead set on making sure I said nothing. I went over to the window and looked out onto the city below me.

"How long will we be here? When can I go home?" my throat was dry and I swallowed hard.

"I'm not sure I can answer that for you. I'm not really in charge of things like that." He shifted his tie and tipped the brim of his hat. Classic programming set 23 and 46 combo. It was weird that I knew all the inner workings of this guy and yet when he performed them it felt so real. I suppose it was just the AI and it's algorithms.

"So what do I do now? Just stick around with you guys and wait for something to happen? What am I supposed to do about my work?" I turned towards him and my frustration must have been apparent on my features. He stepped closer and put his hand on my shoulder. He stooped to be eye level with me and looked into my eyes.

"Everything will be fine. We'll get you all settled, but it might be a while before you can go home. I can't really explain it to you right now, but Mr. Walter will as soon as we get back." His words were meant to calm me down, but they really only made me angry. Walter manor was all the way in California, we were in Seattle and I had no desire to leave. I was disappointed and scared and I really wanted to go home. But it seemed like that wasn't going to happen. I resigned myself to whatever fate was in store, and I thanked my stars that at least I was with people I vaguely knew. People that I knew would eventually get me my job back. However I really needed to know why I was being kept here and more importantly, why they acted like they had saved my life. Saved my life from what exactly?

I turned back to the window and I could hear his mechanisms whining as he stood back to his full height. His boiler made a hissing noise and steam escaped from under his collar. He gazed out the window with me and we watched the lights of the city below as they glittered. The city really never slept.

His grip on my shoulder didn't relax. It just stayed. A constant steady pressure that for the moment was all that was left holding me together. We stayed like that for a while, just in silence watching over the city. I turned away and shrugged off his hand. I headed back towards the bed and picked up my phone that was lying on the bedside table.

There were no missed calls or texts. It was oddly silent. I heard the automaton behind me shuffle and make his way back to the edge of my bed. He picked up the coat and draped it around my shoulders. It was made of a heavy material and felt comforting. I grabbed the lapel and felt the thick material between my fingers. It was soft and black embroidered with silver gears and miniscule red flowers. It smelled like oil and rain with an undertone of smoke. I closed my eyes and let it calm me. It reminded me of my dad's old shop.

His hands left my shoulders and hung limply at his sides. I turned to look at him. I was going to thank him but he suddenly stood completely straight and rushed out of the room. I was left with my mouth hanging open. I hurried after him as I slipped my arms into the sleeves of the coat. I saw him disappear around the corner at the end of the hall and took off after him. He ran so lithely it was hard to believe he was made of nearly solid metal. It was hard to keep up with him as he barreled down the stairway instead of taking the elevator. Eventually I couldn't keep up any more and I had to stop. I was panting and had leaned over the railing to catch my breath.

A small hand snaked up my back and patted me lightly. I turned around to face the person addressing me and was hit very hard on the back of my head. As the world faded in and out of darkness, another figure joined the first. They kneeled down beside me and said something I couldn't understand before the world slipped away into complete darkness.


	3. Chapter 3

When I woke up I couldn't see anything. I was blindfolded and gagged with a rough material and I could smell antiseptic and oil. I was hanging by my arms, the joints in my elbows had over extended and I could barely feel my hands because of the thick ropes tied around my wrists. It was cutting into my skin and rubbing it raw and bloody. My legs were dangling below me and it hurt to try to move them at all. It was possible that they were broken. One was completely numb and the other I couldn't move without extreme pain. My eyes watered and I couldn't keep the tears from rolling down my face. I wished I knew why I was here. What did I do to deserve this? I was just a research engineer. I was just a simple girl who was trying to make her way in the world without worrying her mother into her next heart attack. But apparently I had been in the wrong place at the wrong time and assumed I was safe, even when safety was a thinly veiled illusion.

I heard someone enter the room and the clicking of computer keys. I turned my head trying to get away from the cloth that was impeding my view. After rubbing my temple against my shoulder for a few minutes the cloth began to slip up over right eye. It was unbearably bright and it made my eyes water even more. I was hung up in an archaic manner in the middle of a bright white tiled room. Below me was a large metal grate and I was surrounded by numerous trays with bloody medical instruments strewn across them haphazardly. I was bleary and disoriented and wanted to go home more than anything else in the world. I felt sick and desperately needed to get the blood circulating back through my limbs.

"Ma'am, she's awake." I heard a crackling voice say on my left. Behind me the audible click of high heels shuffled around and a tall woman came into view on my left. She was wearing a grey pencil skirt and deep red high heel shoes. An odd combination for a woman in a business suit, but I wasn't going to complain about her fashion choices just yet. Someone ripped the blindfold from my eyes and the world came into terrible clarity. The woman standing in front of me looked at me coldly through her cat eye glasses.

"I don't understand what makes you so special," she grabbed my chin roughly. I had no idea what she was talking about.

"The others never lasted this long, perhaps there was something you overlooked?" she queried to the man in a white apron standing next to her.

"Everything looks to be in order. Nothing is mechanical in any way, shape or form. And before we got to her she had no major scars or anything like that. As you can see here, she has a normal sinus rhythm and all of the major organs are relatively healthy and intact. Her spine seems to have a small spur but nothing inorganic. We still have yet to examine her brain in any extensive manner." He replied. He was typing furiously on a computer stationed near me.

"do you think she could handle a transfusion in this state? It looks like you weren't very kind to her when you took samples. And you know how I hate waiting." She looked at me with those calculating eyes. I glared as much as I could. I wished her all the pain I was feeling.

"Have you gotten any useful information out of her yet? It's been 3 weeks." I felt my heart stutter. 3 weeks? There was no way. How long had I been asleep? What had they done to me? Why were they doing this to me? There was so much I didn't understand. I wanted answers. And I wanted out. My muscles ached and I felt like I couldn't breathe.

"Start the procedure anyway. If nothing else it'll be a nice surprise for those metal catastrophes." Her grin was unsettling. And I had never wanted to cause anyone physical harm as much as I did her at that very moment. I tried to scream and kick and struggle as she watched the man push around carts full of sharp knives and cotton swabs. He grabbed a rope that was tied around my ankles and pulled my legs up sitting me on top of a steel table. The pain that shot through my legs was excruciating and it took all of my will power to keep from screaming at him. Now I could clearly see the deep puckered scars running down both legs from knee to ankle. They had broken my bones. That much was made clear as my legs were dangling at an unnatural angle. Nearly all of my limbs had some kind of tube leading out of them or rather into them.

"Since you're awake Miss Talon, I suppose I'll go over what we're planning today." The man's voice seemed to come from everywhere. It was nice to have the pressure taken off of my arms and legs, but it did nothing for how the rest of me was feeling. I was beginning to hyper ventilate. It was like something you'd see in a horror movie.

"We'll start by putting you on dialysis. You'll be mostly unconscious by the time we finish replacing your blood with the necessary chemicals. The director has been looking for someone like you for a long time. The chemicals we'll be using today were designed to turn any organic tissue into a fluid living metal. Congratulations. You'll be our first human trial. With any luck you'll be the first to survive the transition as well." He smiled at me like I should be excited or honored. "First we'll administer an enzyme designed to help bone growth so you can heal up those unfortunate breaks in your legs and fingers. Terribly sorry about all that, it's just the way things are run around here." He was poking and prodding at me as an assistant brought over a very large needle.

"This will be rather unpleasant."He said as he took it from her and jammed it so far into my spine I thought I could feel it go straight through my stomach. The burning sensation spread out from the needle and fire ran through my veins as it pumped whatever toxins they were injecting into me through the rest of my body. I writhed and struggled against the ropes as I was burned alive from the inside out. My muscles convulsed and my body was wracked with spasms that rattled me off the table and back into my hanging position. I twisted and shook in the middle of the room like a fish on a hook, desperate to free myself and helpless to do so. By the time the burning stopped I could finally hear my tattered screams echo through the tiled room. I wanted someone to save me.

"Please…"I begged. "Please don't do this," the tears cascaded down my face as he circled me carefully, inspecting the progress of my bones as they slowly began the process of knitting themselves back together.

"I'm sorry dear. But there's nothing I can do. Besides, the scientific advances far outweigh the needs of one such as yourself." He tugged and pulled on my fingers, bending and straightening them as they popped and clicked. The pain threatened to overtake me again. I could barely remain conscious enough to speak and yet I couldn't seem to pass out and be free of this nightmare. So little by little I started giving up. It was clear that no one was coming for me and no one here was going to spare me. It was already too late for me to have any hope that I could make a break for it.

"Well it looks like you're almost finished. A few more minutes should have you back up to snuff. Then we'll make sure you can stand before we start the procedure." The man smiled at me. I wanted to rip it off his smug face. And then he left me alone. I tried to move my legs again and found that despite the pain I could manage to teeter on my unsteady feet. I could feel grinding and pivoting as the bones re-grew and set themselves into place in my legs and arms. It was more alarming when I felt it affect my spine. I struggled and pushed up from the ground, trying to alleviate the pressure in my spine. By the time the grinding and stretching and pain finally started to go away, the man in the apron came back with three assistants. Two were wheeling a gurney with heavily padded leather straps and the third was pushing a cart with some kind of glass jar with a dark green liquid. The jar was connected with a hose to a machine standing next to me as the assistants pushed the gurney next to me. The doctor helped untie my legs and force them into the leather straps. I struggled, but quickly ran out of strength as my lungs were compressed from the way my body was hanging.

Finally I was secured on the gurney with barely any strength left in my body and no will left to escape. They all busied themselves with putting on masks and rubber gloves. I could smell something putrid as they started hooking up the tubes sticking out of my limbs to the machine. Then suddenly everyone was still and quiet. They all stared at me for a brief moment.

"2:53 am, procedure begins. Hartford, Quinn, and McKenzie are assisting. Quinn, Begin dialysis." The man recorded everything with a small digital recorder that he laid on the steel table next to me. One of the assistants leaned over and flipped the switch on the front panel of the machine. Wheels inside started spinning and I watched in absent horror as my blood oozed through the empty tubes. Ice spread through me as I watched the slow crawl of the green liquid creep towards my body. My skin had goose bumps and I couldn't keep my teeth from chattering.

"Hartford please restrain her jaw. We don't need her to bite off her tongue. McKenzie, begin the electrolysis of the muscle. We don't want any snags" Fingers invaded my mouth and my tongue and teeth were separated by large wads of cotton. I coughed uncontrollably and I felt the familiar burn of chemicals entering my body. As the electricity raced through me, my muscles began stiffening beyond their capabilities. My heart was thundering in my chest and I couldn't breathe. I always thought I'd die at an old age surrounded by family that loved me, after I'd made something of myself. But clearly I wasn't going to make it that long. I thought about what would happen if I survived this. I'd never forget to call my mom and I'd spend more time with my sister and actually try to make a relationship work instead of dooming it before it had a chance to grow. All of these were wishful thoughts. I hoped that maybe they could distract me from the death sentence that was currently being pushed through my veins.

There was a crash and I blinked as the lights above me flickered and popped, showering glass everywhere. I heard yells and the groaning of concrete and falling rocks. But my eyes glazed over and I could no longer see anything. The chemical was flowing freely through my blood stream and I could feel it changing me. The pain began to fade as my bones slowly became heavier and I teetered on the edge of consciousness. Then a voice floated through my mind. It was familiar, comforting. I felt like I was floating. It was time. I could let myself go and then I would be safe. Away from these people, these monsters.

Finally the dark claimed me and I sank into its welcoming arms, thankful that I no longer had to fight against its pull or the pain that the light of reality brought.


End file.
